Membership

What is church membership?

By formally joining a local church, we declare our true Kingdom citizenship and make our membership in the invisible Kingdom visible.

What does the Bible say about joining a church?

Though Scripture does not contain a verbatim command to “become a member of a local church”, the biblical foundation for church membership permeates the New Testament. This biblical basis can be seen most clearly in 4 ways:

• The example of the early church. The early church knew which people were a part of their fellowship (Acts 2:41-47, 5:14, 16:5, Galatians 1:1-2, Romans 16:1-16; 1 Cor. 1:1-3, 11:17-22, etc.).
• The existence of church government. Church leaders are called to shepherd specific people (Acts 20:28, 1 Peter 5:1-2), and church members submit to and are discipled by certain leaders (Heb 13:17, 1 Thess 5:12).
• The exercise of church discipline. You have to know who constitutes the local church if you are going to take it to the church (Matt 18:17), and you have to know who is part of the flock in order to send them from it (Matt 18:15-17, 1 Cor 5:1-13).
• The exhortations to mutual edification. We need to know who the ‘one anothers’ are in the Bible, and the clearest way is to know those who are counted with you. Those in the household of faith must be known so they can be shown extra ‘good’ (Gal 6:10) by their brothers and sisters in Christ (John 17:23, Heb 10:24-25, Rom 12:4-8, 1 Cor 12:4-27, 1 Pet 4:10-11).

Practically… why join a church?

 “What difference does it make if I am a member or not?”

• It’s Biblical. (See above.) Membership at Rockland is our attempt to shepherd God’s people toward what God calls His followers to do in relation to the local church—join it.
• It formally and explicitly places Christians under the care of elders/pastors. It is supremely wise to be accountable to and shepherded by pastoral leaders who will give an account to God for the members’ spiritual health.
• It is transformational. It helps your heart go ‘all in’ and feel even more like this is home, while silencing doubts and instilling confidence in the hearts of the members about the veracity of their conversion.
• Church membership “fosters a lasting, soul-satisfying community that can be found nowhere else on earth”^[1].
• It is how we officially represent God on Earth with others. Local church membership makes global church membership visible. 

What is the commitment the church leaders are making to the members?

• The leaders consider members in shepherding the church and take ownership of their discipleship and care. They will provide spiritual oversight, direction, protection, and leadership with Biblical integrity so that God’s people can flourish in their faith. They will ensure the Word of God is faithfully preached and that Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are regularly and rightly observed.
• The elders, staff, and other teams explicitly commit to praying for our members regularly by name.
• Our members have unique access to elders and staff. The leaders will make every reasonable effort to meet with members or return phone calls.

What is the commitment the members are making to each other?

Though we recognize that seasons of life make some of these more difficult at times, these are the four mutual commitments we are generally making to one another.

• Worship: The church gathered on Sunday mornings is the local church, so we commit to gathering regularly in a worship service. The priority for a church is the gathering for worship, and everything else flows from this.
• Connect: We know others and are known by others in Biblical community.
• Serve: We use our spiritual gifts for the glory of God and in service of His local Church.
• Give: We contribute regularly, generously, and cheerfully to Rockland’s general budget for the good of the whole body.

[1] Jonathan Landry Cruse, Church Membership, ed. Jason Helopoulos, Blessings of the Faith (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2024), 53.